Valve operated vesical catheters made of plastic material or, more generally, of synthetic resin are known.
These catheters generally consist of flexible ducts produced in various standardized lengths.
A catheter having a certain length must be chosen in accordance with the actual patients' need.
One catheter that is presently used is provided with a valve of elastic material, housed inside the duct close to the outer opening.
The valve can be operated by the patient through a slight pressure exerted from outside on a section of the penis which corresponds with the point of location of the valve.
This point can be located by the patient through a series of protuberances specially formed on the outside surface of the duct, near to the valve.
The distal end of the duct is positioned inside the bladder and has a spiral shape.
There are numerous holes provided along the terminal section of the catheter near the distal end, for urine to enter the catheter.
The principal drawback with the use of the above described catheters, results from the fact that it is difficult for the patient to locate the valve by touch, particularly as poor touch sensibility occurs in many patients who use these catheters.
A further inconvenience that has been found when such a catheter is used, results from the fact that the patient must apply pressure on the penis to operate the valve.
In the long run this, pressure that often is not light, could provoke more or less serious local traumas, with damage to the penis.